The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.

When a great Master is born, the water in the rivers turns clearer and the plants grow greener.

Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves.

To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds.

Mind contemplating mind is like an object and its shadow—the object cannot shake the shadow off. The two are one. Wherever the mind goes, it still lies in the harness of the mind.

“Is family life easier than being a bachelor?” I asked. Allen didn’t answer directly. But I understood. I asked another question: “A lot of people say that if you have a family you’re less lonely and have more security. Is that true?” Allen nodded his head and mumbled something softly. But I understood.

If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes.

On the same spot I sit today Others came, in ages past, to sit. One thousand years, still others will come. Who is the singer, and who the listener?

See that your skeleton is not you. Your bodily form is not you. Be at one with life. Live eternally in the trees and grass, in other people, in the birds and other beasts, in the sky, in the ocean waves. Your skeleton is only one part of you. You are present everywhere and in every moment. You are not only a bodily form, or even feelings, thoughts,